I’m a 59 year old middle school special education teacher. My students have behavioral issues and some have learning difficulties as well. Square as I may seem to be to some of them, I manage to keep up with the new ‘hip’ vernacular of my class and other kids at our school. I do this thanks to daily exposure to their constant conversations. When they say certain terms or phrases, it doesn’t take long to get their meanings. So here are a few of the things I’ve been hearing from the mouths of the young. Some are a few years old but have stood the test of time with my current teen students.
“I PASSED OUT.” Nobody was drunk or high,.they just refer to falling asleep or napping in this way, “passed out”,.as if they were in a contest to see how long they could stay awake.
“I HAVE TO USE IT.” “It” being the restroom.
“THAT IS SO RAW!” Meaning real cool and awesome. I think a better term would be “cooked”, since cooked food is always tastier.
“DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT.” This is in response to anytime a personal question is asked about what a student is up to. It means, “Even though there’s something to tell you, I’m not telling.”
“DAAAAMN!” Simple exclamation of anything, it can be something good or bad. Just ‘daaaamn!”
“NO HOMO!” This is one guys say in defense of looking or acting like they’re too friendly with another guy. I’ve heard a kid say, “Let’s play this game together, no homo!” Sometimes they will quickly repeat “No Homo” a second time. In this so called enlightened age, I’m really surprised how homophobic some students are.
“EXTRA”- It means someone is acting over-dramatic. “Man, that Sharon is so ‘extra’ about her getting a ‘C’ on that test.
“GOAT”- Standing for Greatest Of All Time. This one is used by people of all ages. I remember when a ‘goat’ was the athlete who screwed up in a big game. Charlie Brown was the ultimate goat and never the hero.
“BIG YIKES”- For years people have been saying “Yikes” as a voice of caution or mild shock about something. “Big Yikes” is a much bigger deal!
“HAIRLINE”- This last one blows me away because until I started working at my current school (4 years now) I’d never heard it before! This comes from the guys, not the girls, and their fascination with fellow males and how their hairlines frame their faces. The ‘hairline’ concern crosses all racial boundaries and it seems odd that for boys who are blatantly homophobic, they sure are focused on how their male peers’ new hair-cut shows off a hairline.
There are other terms I hear like ‘Fam’ and ‘Yolo’ but to be honest, I’m in the middle of a 3 day weekend thanks to President’s Day,. and I’m all talked out!
NEXT BLOG– Hitting to all fields.